Posted: Wed, Mar 5, 2003, 12:01 AM ET (0501 GMT)
Gravity Probe B, a NASA mission to test Einstein's theory of relativity that has been more than four decades in the making, faces a launch delay of several months as well as an agency review that could lead to the project's cancellation, SPACE.com reported Tuesday. The spacecraft, which was scheduled to launch this summer on a Delta 2, will likely be delayed until November because of spacecraft problems discovered during a thermal vacuum test. The test found that there were several blown fuses on the spacecraft; components affected by the blown fuses have been sent to a subcontractor on the project for repairs. The problem is the latest setback for the mission, whose launch was scheduled for 2000 but has been delayed by several problems that have cost NASA more than $100 million. Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator for space science, said he has commissioned two independent reviews of the mission, which should be completed by April. The reviews will consider the merits of continuing the mission and the cost impact the repairs and delays will have on NASA's overall space science program: each month's delay costs the agency $4-5 million. The mission, designed to test Einstein's general theory of relativity, has been under study by Stanford University since 1962, and has been funded by NASA in one form or another since 1964. The total cost of the mission is expected to exceed $570 million.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  Gravity Probe B web site